1947 Bentley MK VI

My how time flies, yet again. I seem to say this every time I return to blogging having been dragged away by the more tedious aspects of modern life.

What may you ask has been keeping me occupied over the period of the last few months, well mostly gardening and DIY and the like….risking life and limb precariously balanced on the garage roofs removing the moss with a lawn rake.

We have had the tree feller, ( que old joke about three Irish chaps who came to chop down a tree) anyway trees have been fallen and the wood is looking far better for it and I have learnt from watching a true professional at work. Not perhaps enough to start my own business but enough for me to run amock with my chainsaw attacking the rather poorly ash trees that stand in my way of transforming a wood into a garden and croquet lawn.

Which brings me to the point of this current blog….. ash trees, or more especially the potential lack of said trees from Chalara dieback disease.

The eagle eyed of you who view this may have noticed the small picture of my good self languishing on the bonnet of my 1939 Rover 12 and thought ‘what a fine piece of British engeneering’ and may I suggest the car’s quite a fine specimen too.

With this in mind I have some potentially tragic news…..an awful lot of older motors are made with the use of ash wood in their frames and indeed modern Morgans are still being produced with ash frames.

Whilst the Chalara dieback disease has provided us with plenty of wood for the household wood burners for next year, the lack of wood for restorers of old motors could prove problematical, let’s hope they find a resistant strain to keep ash trees viable for the future.

On the subject of old motors, whilst I was away from blogging I had a bit of a whimsy turn and purchased a rather splendid 1947 Bentley MK VI, a car I first had desires for in the early 70’s….still, better late than never.

She is a beautiful car to drive and with a 4257cc engine she positively purrs up the hills, unlike my first classic car, a 1935 Austin Seven with a 747cc engine which couldn’t pull the skin off a rice pudding, but that doesn’t stop you loving them any the less, it’s like children so I’m led to believe.

The wife and I took the Bentley on our usual trip to the Goodwood Revival which for those of you not in the know is the best classic car motor racing event in the world which is always a weekend in September and the sun always shines.

We went down for the extra day this year to watch the cricket match which takes place in the grounds of Goodwood House on the thursday adding an extra dimension to the weekend.

It is de rigueur to dress in period dress for The Revival so I was very pleased with my new tweed suit when the wife and I were stopped for our photo by none other than Gustav Temple editor of the esteemed publication The Chap Magazine for their Oct/Nov issue, it’s probably more prestigious than being in Vogue or Tatler or dare I say it Country Life!

Well that’s it for now, toodle pip.

About The Diary of a Country Bumpkin

I am a retired actor, although to be honest I only retired because I wasn't getting any work and the option of becoming an unemployed actor/waiter at my age was ludicrous, especially as my waiting skills are non-existent. Having said I’m retired, I don’t think there really is such a thing as a retired actor for I am still available for work, I just don’t have an agent or any connections with regards to obtaining any worthwhile work. I have over the years done student films when there is nothing else available, always low paid (if at all) the only incentive was always the promised copy of the finished film for your show reel which nine times out of ten always failed to materialise. I spent many years looking after my aged mother who had dementia, hence the lack of acting work but shortly after her death I was lucky enough to run into an ex-girlfriend of many years ago and our romance blossomed once again, resulting in us getting married in 2013. My move to the countryside inspired me to write The Diary of a Country Bumpkin which tells of my continuing dilemmas in dealing with the rigors of the countryside from the unexpectedly large number of pollens, fungal moulds and hay products waiting to attack the unsuspecting townie. I enjoy writing, see my play Dulce Et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori on The Wireless Theatre Company, The Plays Wot I Wrote and The Battle of Barking Creek both available on Amazon.co.uk and am very fond of classic cars so my ideal occupation would be acting in a film I had written set in the 1930s/40s, we live in hopes. I am delighted to say that since venturing to the countryside where space is not quite the premium it is in town, I have due to the availability of two double garages acquired more classic cars to form a small collection the pride of which are a 1947 Bentley Mk VI and a 2000 Bentley Arnage. My various blogs and websites are continually evolving and I’m sure that by following the appropriate links you will find something which will edify or amuse.

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